Random Thoughts and Ramblings of a Radio Jock

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

"Indecency"

Regardless of who you are or where you work (yes, Clayton, I'm even talking to you guys), this should scare the the living day lights out of you if you're a broadcaster. I got this from All Access:

99.8% of all indecency complaints filed with the FCC in 2003 and 99.9% of those in 2004 up to OCTOBER (except for those regarding the SUPER BOWL halftime show) were filed by a single activist group, the PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL, according to an FCC analysis obtained by MEDIAWEEK.

The information, combined with information obtained from the FCC by ADVANCE PUBLICATIONS web expert and former TV GUIDE critic JEFF JARVIS that indicated only 23 individuals had complained about the "MARRIED BY AMERICA" program that led to a fine against FOX and its affiliates, appears to confirm that other than the JANET JACKSON incident, the FCC has not received a significant number of complaints that would demonstrate that radio and TV programming is violating community decency standards.

As ALL ACCESS has previously noted, several of the high profile radio indecency fines, including the fines that led to BUBBA THE LOVE SPONGE's dismissal by CLEAR CHANNEL and the fines slapped on EMMIS for MANCOW MULLER's show, were issued after single complaints by individuals, as opposed to any groundswell of community objection. But FCC Chairman MICHAEL POWELL, in last FRIDAY's NEW YORK TIMES op-ed piece, said that while advocacy groups generate many complaints, "that's not unusual in today's Internet world...that fact does not minimize the merits of the groups' concerns." And Commissioner KATHLEEN ABERNATHY told MEDIAWEEK that the number of complaints doesn't affect whether the FCC finds a show indecent, saying "(a)s long as you're following precedents and the law, it shouldn't matter."

Read that again. Seriously. I had to.

This is very scary if you're a broadcaster. One group of people has this much power. One group got several Fox-owned and affiliate stations fined for something that wasn't even that offensive. One group raised the biggest stink about a boob (as if none of us have ever seen one).

One group is ruining our careers and our lives.

Pay special attention to the part above where it talks about the Fox fine. It says that ONLY 23 people complained about the show in question. If you do a little more digging (this tid bit was actually in my station's show prep on Monday) you'll find that all 23 of these people are affiliated with the Parents' Television Council. You'll also find that of the complaints that the FCC was able to find and turn over to Fox, only one person who filed a complaint actually watched the show. One person.

Read that again so you can be sure you fully understand what I'm saying.

Yep, you read it correctly. Only one person actually saw the show. The rest of the complaintants turned in complaints via form letters probably written by PTC brass. So thanks to basically one person affiliated with an overly conservative group, Fox Net and its affiliates now have to pay a fine for something that didn't really offend anyone except one ultra uptight prick who was probably only trying to make a name for himself.

Let's look at Howard Stern. Let me just say that I've lost all respect for Howard because he's turning his back on the medium that made him a millionaire many times over and that made him a household name. But I digress. Anyway, he's largly been fined on his Florida affiliates because of one person. One.

Would you believe that a majority of people surveyed say that they don't find Howard to be offensive, nor do they find radio and television in general to be offensive? It's true. This "public outrage" over indencency was obviously largely overblown by the idiotic media. Don't fall for hype, go with facts and those speak for themselves. By and large, we're not offending many people. Take that, PTC.

It's scary that a complaint from one person can ruin the career of a broadcaster, get a station fined or even killed off. This has got to change and if we want it to change it has to begin with those of us who are on the front lines of this whole ordeal. The ones in the suits can't make this happen because they don't have as much to lose as we do.

We must take this personally.

What can we do? We must contact our senators and congressmen to let them know that our livelihoods depend on things changing. Among the changes made, there should be some kind of clear-cut rules about what we can and can't do on the air. There should also be regulations that say complaints made in form letters will not be accepted (this is so a group with sheeple members can't have so much power). There must be a detailed account of the alleged indecency to accompany the complaint; in other words, there should be come indication that the person making the complaint actually watched or listened to the offending show. And there should be a regulation that says a significant percentage of the estimated listening or viewing audience (as determined by Arbitron or Neilson) has to file a complaint in order for there to be an investigation. This garbage of one person being able to complain and getting a fine levied (or worse) is idiotic and this must be changed.

If you agree with me, the next step is up to you. Write your law makers and let them know that you're fed up with this garbage and you want to see changes. Get the management of your station involved. If we band together, we can get things going.

Or do nothing and watch things get even worse. Allow one group to have as much power as the PTC and watch our careers and stations go the way of the do do. Sitting on our thumbs isn't going to cut it. We must be pro-active.

It's up to us, guys.

What say you?

--Jonathan

posted by Jonathan at 10:41 PM

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